Darlington Arrays Drive Big Inductive Loads

Jun 17, 2014

Diodes Incorporated has introduced higher performance, lower cost versions of the industry-standard ULN2000 series of Darlington arrays. The devices integrate seven open-collector Darlington transistors, each capable of producing a high output current of 500mA, from outputs rated at 50V.

With clamp diodes included, the Darlington arrays directly drive a variety of inductive loads, including relays and stepper motors in home appliance and industrial products. Three arrays have been announced by Diodes Incorporated, ensuring compatibility with all common logic families. These are: ULN2002A (14V to 25V PMOS), ULN2003A (5V TTL, CMOS) and ULN2004A (6V to 15V CMOS, PMOS).

As drop-in replacements, all parts are provided in the popular small outline SO-16 package, with inputs and outputs of all Darlingtons pinned out in direct opposition to simplify PCB layouts. The array's -40ºC to +105ºC operating temperature suits the requirements of industrial system design.

These high-performance Darlington arrays are priced at $0.15USD each in 1k quantities.